A Collision of Souls:  Gaiden
by Xavior Nightshadow
Summary: A series of short stories by me, based on RySenkari's fic, A Collision of Souls.  Read that first or you'll probably be confused.
1. G1: Chapter 1: Settling In

A/N: These are little side-stories I'll be doing based on RySenkari's "Love In A Ruined World" and "Collision of Souls" stories, set after the second of the two fics. If you haven't read those, you probably are gonna be confused - Ry's in my favorite authors section, so go check out him and his stories, kk?

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, DBZ, or Ry's stories. So naturally, I also don't own these characters.

Gaiden 1: Glacial Soul, Merciful Soul

Chapter 1: Settling In

"Fives?" Patrick looked up from his cards, regarding his opponent with a cool eye. She opened her mouth to respond, and he knew then he'd been outplayed.

"Go fish," the seafoam-haired woman replied. "Again."

"You cheat, Bulma." Patrick picked up a card with a look of remorse. "There's just no way you could win - "

"Forty hands in a row? Yeah, that is pretty impressive, Bulma." As the voice floated in, Patrick's head snapped toward the door.

"Cammy?"  
"And Trunks," she giggled, stepping into the house to allow the muscular Saiyan in. "Bulma's really kicking your butt, huh, Patrick?"  
"She's cheating," he replied petulantly. "Trunks, you know what I'm talking about. You've played against her!"

"She is REALLY good," the Saiyan admitted. "But I don't think she cheats."

"Of course you don't, Trunks. She's your mom. So, Ami here today?" Patrick looked past Trunks, not seeing the familiar face of the blue-haired Senshi.

Trunks shook his head. "She's got a big test tommorow... personally, I know she can handle it, but she really wants to study. Says she has a hard enough time keeping up with school with her work as a Senshi, doesn't wanna lose more time. I don't know why she can't study here and leave in the morning," Trunks said, disappointed-sounding.

"She'd never get any studying done, you two'd be too busy making out," Patrick muttered. It was quiet enough that Trunks didn't catch it, but Cammy giggled a little bit, nodding slightly. Patrick smiled as she did. _She's cute when she laughs..._

"What's so funny?" Trunks asked, irritated.

"Nothing, nothing..." Patrick smirked. "I just thought of something really funny, that's all." He arched an eyebrow. "So, what's on the agenda today? And, uh... Why's Cammy here? Isn't it a school night?"

Cammy gave him a sharp look. "What. You're not happy to see me?"

Patrick blushed a little, "No, no, that's not it, I'm just surprised is all - Trunks," he said, quickly changing the topic, "What're we up to today?"

Trunks tilted his head and thought about it. "Repairs are just about done in Nihimo... Everything's going really well, even without the mayor... I think they can finish up without us."

"I guess that just leaves the finishing touches on my house."

"Ooh," Cammy squealed. "That's right! You guys were building Patrick a house over in Nihimo Town! That way he could be like, their super-cool first line of defense if monsters show up and stuff."

"And also so they could have the guest room back... It's not like I'd mind sleeping on the couch if they had company, but it's probably still a relief, I'd bet." Patrick grinned. "Well, we'd better get to work..."  
"Can I come?" Cammy asked. "I wanna help too!"

"I guess I don't see why not," Patrick admitted. "Trunks?"

"The more the merrier. Besides, I think Cammy's a good influence on you, Patrick."  
"Ooooh," Cammy grinned. "Does that mean you're causing trouble when I'm not around?"

Patrick shook his head. "No way... When I decided to help you guys, I meant it."

Trunks laughed. "Yeah, he's right. I was just messing around. Heck, Chris causes more trouble than this guy. Anyway, let's get going." Trunks walked out of the house, closely followed by the other two, and all three lifted off into the air, flying towards Nihimo Town.

"I still love doing this!" Cammy squealed. "Flying is so cool!"

Patrick nodded in agreement. "That it is. Of course, it's probably cooler for you... I mean, you've only known how to fly for what, like... a week now?"

"Two weeks," Cammy answered. "Since Trunks beat Exeter, and then like... a couple days after that he taught me and my sisters to fly."

"That's right," Patrick remembered. "Well, I think we're getting close..."

"Yep," Cammy nodded. "Let's get to work!"

* * *

The rest of the day was filled with activity, the three of them finishing up the last few touches on Patrick's house. By the time the sun set a few hours later, the small place was up and running, a cozy little house on the outer edges of the town.

"Well, that just about does it..." Patrick smiled a bit. "Good work, Cammy."

"No problem! I had a lot of fun! Plus, it was really easy... Trunks did all the heavy lifting and stuff."

Trunks grinned. "Yeah, well, I am a Super Saiyan... It wasn't really that hard."

"Thanks for the help, even so," Patrick replied.

Cammy floated up a bit, getting an aerial view of the house. "Hey, I can see Chris's house from here!"

"Yeah, it's pretty close," Patrick pointed out. "So, how did that date between him and your sister go, anyway?"

Cammy giggled. "She said it was really fun... And that he was really, really nervous, too. But she thought it was pretty cute."

"Good to hear... Well, it's getting dark. You should probably have Trunks send you back so you can be ready for school tommorow."

"Actually..." Cammy said, a little nervous sounding, "I was thinking I could stay over here, and have Trunks send me home in the morning!"

Patrick's eyes widened a little in shock. _Did she just say... What I think she said?_  
"That way, I could, uh..." She stuttered a little bit, then her tone changed. "I could hang out with Trunks and Bulma! She's actually a pretty cool lady, ya know?"

Patrick could feel his heart plummet almost to his shoes. "Uh... right, yeah. I mean, it's not my decision to make... I'm sure Bulma will let you stay."

"Yeah, my mom's pretty cool about that sort of thing," Trunks answered. "And the guest room is free now, so..."

As Trunks and Cammy chatted excitedly, Patrick had no idea how close Cammy had come to saying what he had really hoped to hear.

_I guess I can't expect her to trust me that soon..._

_I can't believe I said that... Sorry Patrick, but... I still don't know. It's just so weird..._

As the other two flew off back towards Trunks' house, Patrick simply turned and walked into his own house... Which suddenly felt a lot bigger, and a lot less impressive, than it had only a few minutes ago.

* * *

A/N: Had to end it on a sad note - but this story isn't over yet, so don't worry! I decided to start with Cammy because she's my favorite character of Ry's... in fact, Patrick was created mostly because I mentioned how sad I thought it was that Cammy suffered like that in "Love In a Ruined World". Later! 


	2. G1:  Chapter 2:  Moonlight, Regrets, and

A/N: Wrote this pretty quick - I'm on a roll.

Gaiden 1: Glacial Soul, Merciful Soul

Chapter 2: Moonlight, Regrets, and Late Nights

Patrick sat on top of his house, the small, cozy thing giving him a rather poor view all things considered. It was a clear, ink-black night, and the stars shone clear, almost brighter than normal due to the deep darkness of the sky they rested in. It was at these that Patrick gazed - and that was how he spotted an unexpected visitor, her green hair lit by the moon.

"Cammy?" This was the second time today he'd asked that in this same surprised tone, as the girl spotted him below and drifted to the roof where he sat. "I thought you were sleeping. You've got school in the morning, right?"

"I, uh, couldn't sleep," Cammy admitted. "So I thought maybe I could get some fresh air... And then I thought it'd be cool to fly around and check out Nihimo from the air, ya know?"

He nodded in understanding. "Sounds reasonable to me, I guess... Flying can be kind of relaxing."

"So, what are you doing awake, Patrick? I thought you'd be tired after all that hard work finishing up the house."

"Nah," he responded. "It wasn't that hard... I'm pretty strong, and all... As for what I'm doing, well... I guess I was just thinking."

"About what?" Cammy smiled, though she had a feeling she knew what it was.

"I've done... a lot of things wrong."

_I knew it,_ Cammy thought. "Patrick, didn't I tell you already? That's over. You're a new person now... You've really been helping the people here."

"I know," he responded. "It's not just that, though... I've been a part of the Galactic Research Armada for a little while, though... I hurt a lot of people... none of them as bad as I hurt you, of course..." His voice wavered a bit, remembering again the things he'd done to Cammy... How he'd hurt her, and almost done something much worse. "And those people... I don't think they'd forgive me for the thngs I've done, even if they could. And then there's Flarinsa..."

"That crazy fire lady? What about her? Were you guys, like... you know," Cammy said, "together?"

"What?" Patrick actually chuckled a bit at the thought. "No, no... We were just friends, if that. It's just... That day, on spire five..." He choked up a little again. "Flarinsa was fighting the Senshi, and she was expecting me to back her up, and I ran off... That was the time that..."

"That you came back for me and told me my sisters were dead, right?" _No wonder he feels so bad..._

"I abadoned my teammate, just to... Just to fulfill my own desires... And then, when we fought Pandemonium..."

"You saved me," she reminded him.

"Yeah, but what he said then... That the only reason I had survived was because I was impulsive, and short-sighted, and a traitor... It stuck with me. Sometimes I wonder if Flarinsa would have died if I hadn't abandoned her... and it's not like I can say I did it for some greater good."

"The Senshi would have kicked both your butts, and then you'd be dead too," Cammy replied matter-of-factly. "I mean... I understand why you feel bad about it..." _It is kind of messed up... _ "But she was one of the bad guys."

"So was I," Patrick reminded her. "Maybe if she'd lived, she could have ended up on our side, too."

"I don't think so," Cammy answered. "There's something... different about you, Patrick. I don't think any of those other guys would have done the same thing... You're a good person, whether you want to admit it or not."

"I wish I was as sure of that as you are," Patrick admitted.

Cammy just scooted in a little closer, yawning. "I'm kinda tired... I don't think I could fly back, I'd probably fall asleep on the way there!" She giggled a little bit at the image.

"I could... fly you back," Patrick offered, a little nervous at how close Cammy had gotten... She'd kissed him that one time, but it was a quick little thing, and he still felt a little weird about... well, a lot of things. "It's not that far, and I'm not that tired, really." And then he yawned, blowing a hole in that claim.

"You are so," Cammy responded.

"Nope. It's just contagious, that's all. You yawned, so I had to yawn."

"Nuh-uh! You're tired. I don't think I trust you to get all the way back to Trunks' house. You'd probably fall asleep, and then we'd both crash into the ground."

"So, what do you suggest?" Patrick asked. "I mean... I've only got one room... I wasn't really expecting anyone to be spending the night."

"Does that mean you don't want me to stay?" Cammy looked up at Patrick and grinned - and the very idea of it caused him to blush.

"It's not that, it's, uh... um..."

"Perv!" Cammy giggled a little. "I know what you're thinking," she said in sing-song.

"That's so not fair," Patrick responded.

"It's your fault, for thinking like that."

"Fine, you can stay. I'll just sleep on the couch, it won't bother me any." Patrick pouted a little. "That was still a really low blow, Cammy."

"Yeah, you're probably right... but it was funny." Cammy yawned again, and Patrick set a hand on her hair, waiting for a moment. When she didn't move away, he moved his hand away. "You should probably go to sleep, Cammy. You've yawned twice... and you didn't even react just now."

"Who said I didn't like it?" Cammy grinned, then suddenly slipped off the roof, giggling. "G'night!" Then she slipped into the house, leaving Patrick sitting there stunned.

_Is she just messing with me, or... what?_

* * *

A few minutes later, Patrick headed in after her, and by the time he got in, she was already fast asleep, collapsed on his bed. He looked over towards the couch, then towards Cammy. _She must've fallen asleep AS she hit the bed - she didn't even bother to cover up._ He thought about it. _I could fly her over to Bulma's place... I'm still awake enough to make the trip. Or... There's still room, it's a pretty big bed, I mean..._ He looked down at Cammy. Then he looked back over to the couch, and laid down.

* * *

Cammy felt a hand brush against her shoulder and stir her awake. Her eyes opened slightly, catching a little bit of long hair. "Mmm... Trunks... lemme sleep."

"Trunks? You're off a little bit... you must be pretty tired, huh?" Patrick smiled at her as her eyes opened. "Remember? You came over here last night. And then you fell asleep on my bed."

"Hey," Cammy insisted, remembering the events of the previous night. "You said it was okay."

"Yeah, I know. I was just messing with you... I ended up relaxing on the couch." He smiled a bit. "But you'd better get over to Bulma's house... School today, remember?"

"You sound like my mom," Cammy moaned. "Fine, fine..." Then she took a closer look at Patrick. "You look really tired..."

"Yeah, well, uh..." Patrick rubbed the back of his head nervously. "It was like... three in the morning when you fell asleep, and I thought I should probably make sure you weren't late for school... And I couldn't sleep anyway, so... I decided to make sure you woke up in time."

"Thanks... I guess I'd better get going... see you later, Patrick! Today's Friday, so I'll be able to stay later tommorow!" Cammy bound out of bed, and the next thing he knew, she was off in the air and headed for Bulma's.

Patrick finally let himself sleep.

* * *

"He really is just a pathetic traitor, isn't he, Sunzeki?" A dark voice rumbled out from a barely-seen form. "Of course, in the end, even his superior was weak. I suppose it's to be expected."

"Exactly right, sir... Weakness like Pandemonium's will only encourage further weakness... This one's just lucky enough to survive." Sunzeki grinned. "All for the mercy of the earth girl... The "flower bitch." How amusing."

"It's a shame... we haven't the time to waste on them. I would enjoy seeing a traitor like that destroyed."

"I see no reason why we couldn't, sir... A small incursion, when the others aren't around... we could crush the traitor and the Earth girl. The fewer there are to protect Trunks, the easier it will be to break him... And complete our research."

"Very well. I'll leave the detals to you, Sunzeki... But remember, it must be a small attack. We can't risk many of our men before we're ready to make our final move against the half-Saiyan."

"Naturally... You can leave this one to me, sir... It won't take much to crush them, in any case... Patrick is particularly weak. I won't even have to dirty my hands."


	3. G1: Chapter 3: Seeing Double

Gaiden 1: Glacial Soul, Merciful Soul

Chapter 3: Seeing Double

It was almost night again by the time he woke up, and Patrick noted it with a bit of disapproval. "Must've slept... like... twelve hours. That'll teach me to pull late nights..." He gave an irritated little sigh, peered out the windows in the front, and took stock of the flint-colored dusk overtaking the deep gold of the sunset. "Wasted a whole day... I guess it wasn't a total waste, though." He remembered the night, Cammy's visit, and their conversation. "Y'know, she's right. I did what I had to."

_Talking to yourself, traitor?_ The voice rung out in his mind - it sounded like Cammy, so much so that his head actually snapped around in shock, looking around. "Wha... what was that?"

_A good guy, you? Pretty good joke right there..._ The giggle in his mind was haunting. It was Cammy's. The laugh he treasured. _Shut up,_ he snapped, trying to figure out what was going on.

_Face it, you were right last night. You've done nothing but hurt people for your own convenience. Back then..._ Images flashed through his mind, pausing for a moment on a young boy, his eyes gazing up with a frozen sheen at the young soldier he'd been. The image cracked, splintered, other faces and other times gazing through parts of the image. _Even now. You turned on your comrades. Why?_

_Because they're right, _he insisted. _They're right to trust me, I'm one of the good guys now!_

_No. It's because you wanted to live. You didn't want to be this._ Now, Flarinsa... crumpled, broken. _Your own desperation drove you to turn on the people who raised you. Face it, Patrick, you're impulsive, disloyal... out for yourself. The only reason you don't take her, the only reason you resist, is because she has friends that are bigger and meaner than you. You've never had any loyalty deeper than that._

_No, damn it... you're wrong,_ he insisted again, though it lacked the force of before.

_Am I? How long, do you think it is before I end up like this?_ Now the voice was grating on him, the familiar voice tearing him down, the voice he trusted most of all, and the image came again, unbidden... At first he thought it was Flarinsa, again, crumpled and broken, but it stuck in his mind, and he recognized what the voice was showing him... He gazed on the silken hair, light green stained to a mottled brownish-black by blood, her body crumpled and broken and something else he couldn't bring himself to admit. _It's... it's what I was... How could I have... I wanted to do this,_ he realized with a dark clarity. _How... did I ever want that?_ He struggled, trying to force the images free from his head, and only realized he had crumpled against the window when he found himself gazing up to familiar eyes, eyes he had just seen open in a terrible pain but which now gazed down at him in concern.

"Patrick?! I (_hate you I hate you look what you did to me you pervert you) _came to see you, what's wrong, what (_have you done look at yourself covered in blood and something else you killed all those people all of them_) happened? Why (_did you hurt me I thought you were sorry I trusted you I trusted why_) are (_aren't why aren't_) you down there? (_in hell that's where you belong you're responsible_)"

He tried to focus on those eyes, reconcile them with the things he heard, but his vision swam, and so did his eyes, her voice seeming to hit him on two different levels, there was the real Cammy, the Cammy he could hear, but there was this second one, and the eyes kept changing, sometimes beautiful and clear, sometimes glazed with (_death you killed me you killed me and you liked it_) that horrible realization, like two images interposed over each other, and finally he collapsed the rest of the way down, letting sleep take him once again, far away from that other Cammy, from this juxtaposition of horror imprinted over top those beautiful clear eyes. _I love you,_ he admitted, retreating deep inside himself as he heard the resounding answer from the other end.

_Well, that's just the problem, isn't it?_

* * *

"Patrick, are you alright?" She shook him again, trying to rouse him. She had flown here when she and Ami had gotten off of school - And found him, collapsed, his eyes swimming, searching her face... Cammy didn't know what was wrong, but there was definitely something going on. She set her hand on his forehead, checking for a fever, but he was cool to the touch. _Well, that about does it for my theories, I guess..._ Cammy sighed. _I can't leave him here... But Ami probably knows a lot more about this thing than I do..._ She stood up, walking to the doorway, only to turn as she heard movement behind her. She looked back. "Patrick?"

He gave a nod. "Quiet..."

"What?" She turned and returned to him, taking her seat on the edge of the bed again. "What happened back there?"

"I..." For a second, Cammy could swear something flashed in his eyes, something dark and menacing and familiar, and she shivered. "I don't know, I just... all of a sudden, I felt really weird, and I started..." _Hearing voices? Hearing __**her**__ voice? Oh, I'm sure she'd love to hear that..._ "seeing double, (_ain't that the half of it_, and this time it was his voice, familiar and sarcastic as ever) and then I just... Shut down."

"Why did you say it was quiet?" Cammy looked at him with a gaze of concern and set her hand on his head again - for a second she felt a blaze of heat that reminded her of when she (Cammy, not Chamomile) had had a really bad fever one time when she was seven, but then it disappeared as fast as she had felt it, and her eyes widened in concern, not sure what she should do, and she withdrew her hand slowly, Patrick reaching up for it for a moment before letting his hand fall to the bed as though he hadn't done any such thing.

"When I collapsed... I kept hearing..." He paused for a moment. "This really loud ringing... and then you started talking, and that was really loud too..."

"Oh! Am I... am I giving you a headache?"

He smiled. She was so concerned about him... it was kind of cute. He gazed at her green eyes, and suddenly felt a familiar wrenching feeling as the same dark vision fell over her face. "No," he gasped, his voice an animalistic rasp, and the vision faded away, leaving him staring into a pair of eyes widened in shock and concern. "No," he repeated again, his voice calming. "No... I've got a little bit of a headache still, but it's not your fault, Cammy."

"Are you sure you're okay? Something seems kinda weird... Maybe I should go get Ami. She'd know what to do." Cammy stood up, Patrick's hand reaching out half-blindly and grabbing hers as she did.

"No," he said, his voice almost cracking - and again, there was that flash of another Patrick behind his eyes, one she remembered way too well, and she could feel her grip on Patrick's hand tighten a little in fear. "No... I don't want to be alone..." He looked up at her, almost desperate. "In case I have another one of those attacks," he explained, his expression slowly easing out of the look of fear he had worn just a second ago. "If it happens again, I want to make sure you're here... the real you... In case I start seeing things again or something. It might be worse next time..."

Cammy nodded a little. She was kind of scared herself, for other reasons.

_Scared of me, aren't you._

Her eyes opened a bit. That voice was so familiar.

"Cammy?"

_Yep, that's me alright. I remember you called me the 'good twin'. Wow, what a sucker you were... One dream, and you were just ever-so-trusting._

Now it was his grip that was tightening in concern, but when she looked there was a hard, greedy thing behind his eyes, the thing she remembered from when he had first taken her, and she pulled back away from him, stumbling a bit as she stood.

"I... I'm feeling a little weird... I hope whatever it was isn't contagious..." She tried to smile at him, to reassure him, but she was having a hard time pulling it off.

"I sure hope not... I don't think it could be, though..." He seemed unsure himself, shaken up. She couldn't be sure whether or not to believe him.

_Of course not. C'mon, I scar you, torture you, abuse you, and you wanna trust me? You really are a sucker, aren't you? If it's that easy to get in good with you, I was probably wasting my time trying to rape you, huh? If it's this easy..._

"Shut up," she muttered, a hand reaching for that thin, pale line that had faded to nothing, and now it was Patrick's turn to be concerned, his eyes wide with it, him nearly bolting out of bed - wobbling a bit, too, his body still adjusting to the earlier collapse and reaching out for her. She looked at him, and as he reached, she saw **that** Patrick leering out at her again, and she flinched back a little until he wrapped his arms around her.

"Cammy... What's wrong?" The voice that reached her ears was completely different from the one in her mind - the same person, but two totally different voices. She held onto that voice.

"You... you really are the good twin," she choked out. "The evil twin is dead, right?" She wrapped her arms around him, too.

He just nodded, setting his head on the shorter girl's shoulder, hiding the eyes that had caused her such fear, not even knowing why. "Mmhmm... As a doornail..." But as he whispered this comfort, he had to wonder himself if it was true. Still, he knew one thing. _If not... I'll protect you from him, at least... I won't let myself hurt you again... I won't let that vision come true..._

* * *

_He puts on a good show of it,_ he had to admit. But it wouldn't take long. He would play with them... Give them some time to adjust, then pull their feet out from under them. Wait for a moment of comfort, just like this, when they thought they had forgotten it all... And he'd play them again, like a pair of well-tuned instruments, choking out a melody only he could find beautiful. He grinned, hair the color of woven gold falling over his eyes. _I love my job..._ And with these two, it really was too easy. There was just so much to play with.

* * *

Darkness fell without further incident, but neither of the two felt comfortable enough to leave. They sat on the bed, avoiding eye contact, their hands meeting between them not out of love but requirement... as long as they were touching each other, they knew they were the real deal, that they were safe, the good twin, eyes filled with mercy, not death...

Cammy was taking it really hard, Patrick noted. He couldn't blame her... He was about ready to break down himself.

"You... you weren't just seeing double, were you," she asked, her voice full of fear, and that alone hurt him. "What was it, really..."

He pulled her closer, a little, wrapping his arm around the girl, only a little younger than him himself, who had already suffered one death more than anyone should have to live with. "I did see double, except... they weren't the same... I saw you, but I also saw... What would have... what would have been if I had gotten the chance, to..." He rolled his hand a little in the air, letting her figure out what he meant. "And I could hear that Cammy, too... I was... I dunno, hearing double, or something."

Her eyes widened in shock, and Patrick shivered, unwillingly reminded of that dark vision. "That... that must have been horrible..."

He just nodded, trying to put it out of mind. "What about you? You seemed so afraid... Then you called me the 'good twin'..."

"I heard... another you, too... It was the you from..." She gulped a little. "Back then... the first time." _And I could see him hiding behind your eyes,_ she thought, but she couldn't add that. He would turn away from her then, trying to protect her, like he always did now.

"The bad twin," he finished for her. "No wonder... I just wish I could explain it..." _And that you didn't have to get caught up in whatever it was..._

"Ami'll be over tommorow... We were gonna hang out around town, maybe go visit some of Trunks's friends and stuff. Maybe she can help..."

"Maybe." Then something caught his attention. "Wait, tommorow? She was gonna come over here? But... I've only got the one bed." He patted it with his hand, and she giggled a little.

"Yeah, well, I figured you could sleep on the couch again and I could spend the night..."

"Gee, that's nice of you," he quipped. "Good thing you let me know about this beforehand."

The two of them both laughed, the tension of the moment fading into the background as Patrick extracted his revenge, his hand dancing on the ribs of the ever-ticklish girl he had sworn to protect, her rolling on the bed with laughter, that wide-open smile too pure to be broken by any images of pain that still rested in Patrick's mind. By the time he was done, both of them had collapsed on the bed in exhaustion, finally catching up physically with the mental ordeals they had suffered that day. Patrick didn't even move over to the couch - and Cammy didn't even notice. Both of them were just way too tired to care.

And not too far away, a pair of smoky gray eyes narrowed in a combination of rage and dark pleasure, as a puppeteer planned his next pull of the strings - the next dance in his act.


	4. G1:  Chapter 4:  Running Interference

A/N: These are still side-stories based on RySenkari's "Love In A Ruined World" and "Collision of Souls" stories, set after the second of the two fics. If you haven't read those, you probably are gonna be confused - Ry's in my favorite authors section, so go check out him and his stories, kk? It'll make it easier on everyone.

Disclaimer: Still don't own Sailor Moon, DBZ, or Ry Senkari. So, still don't own the characters.

Gaiden 1: Glacial Soul, Merciful Soul

Chapter 4: Running Interference

Dawn broke before either of them was ready - and, of course, in the worst possible way.

"Mmm... Trunks... Lemme sleep..."

"Not... Trunks, I told ya..."

"Yeah, but I am. Rise 'n' shine." The purple-haired Super Saiyan was eyeing them both as they they sat up, eyes opening blearily. The look on his face suggested that he was only barely supressing a grin. Patrick gave him a glare that clearly discouraged such a laugh.

"Only one bed," he reminded Trunks.

"You've got a couch, don't you?"

This time it was Cammy who gave him a glare. "Butt out, Trunks!"

"Whoa," Trunks yelped, surprised. "Looks like I woke up the sleeping lion over here. Alright, alright... I'll leave ya alone about it. If you're gonna make a habit of this kind of thing, you might want Patrick to meet your parents, though." He chuckled a bit - and this time both of them gave him a glare that would strike a normal person dead. "Okay, okay, I get it."

"Look, Trunks, we've had a long night - "

"Patrick, you're not helping - that sounds just as bad as what HE'S saying. Anyway, last night sucked, we were really tired, neither one of us felt like moving." Cammy gave a little huff of satisfaction and gave one last glare all around, just in case. "So, where's Ami? Wasn't she dropping by today?"

Trunks nodded. "She's supposed to be here pretty soon - I figured I'd come pick you guys up, we could head back to my place and join up with Ami, and then we could head to town and see how everyone's doing."

"...couldn't have waited until Ami was here and given us time to wake up, could ya," Patrick muttered. "Whatever. Sounds like a blast. It'll be nice to see how the town's doing, after everything that's happened. Let's go."

The three shuffled outside, and took off into the air for Trunks' house - and before they even managed to land, were greeted by a certain blue-haired senshi floating up to meet them.

"Heya, Ami!" Cammy gave one of her usual high-spirited greetings as Ami approached. "When'd you get here?"

"Just a couple minutes after Trunks left, actually... Don't worry, I didn't wait long. Played a couple games with Bulma while I was waiting to help pass the time."

"So, how'd you do?" Patrick gave her a little smirk.

"Beat me both rounds," Ami admitted.

"I'm telling you, it's unnatural," Patrick muttered. Cammy and Trunks both chuckled at the comment, and the four set off for Nihimo Town.

The tour went by quickly - there honestly wasn't much to see, except for a lot of people putting the finishing touches on the repairs from the last attack on the town. Shops were reopening for business, and the relatively small population of the town was almost all on the streets, mingling and checking up on all their friends and neighbors. It was slowed down a bit, though, mostly because just about everyone wanted to say hello to Trunks and quite a few to Patrick, thanking Trunks for having saved the town (many times over, at that) and Patrick for the repairs. Both of them were practically beaming by the end of the tour, Patrick's mind being somewhat set at ease by how easily the villagers seemed to accept him. The girls seemed to be enjoying themselves, too, checking out the various shops and buildings. Both had been around the town before, but never when it was quite this busy, and both seemed rather amused at the attention Trunks was getting no matter where they went. Then, suddenly, Cammy piped up with a sudden seriousness. "You know what this town needs?"

"Hmm?" Both Ami and Patrick responded almost immediately, and Trunks turned to look at the green-haired girl. She nodded solemnly. "I do. A festival! Think about it - you guys have been in danger for like... forever, and then Trunks kicked the butt of like... the biggest baddie yet! And the town is looking really nice, and Trunks is stronger than ever... You guys should totally celebrate! It would really lighten the mood around here, ya know?"

"Hmm... Yeah, I guess it would be pretty cool to have some sort of fair or something here in town... I don't know how we'd go about setting it up, but it really would be a nice way for the townspeople to have a little fun." Trunks smiled. "I'll talk to my mom and some of the townspeople, and see if we can get some help putting it all together."

"Sounds like a good idea to me. I'll be glad to help with preperations, too. This place could use a bit of entertainment."

"A festival it is, then!" Cammy cheered. "This is gonna be great! Just... uh... make sure it opens on the weekend... It'll be easier for me to come that day. Oh! And try and get a Ferris wheel or something! Or a roller coaster!"

Trunks sighed. "Most of that stuff is pretty run down these days... Or completely destroyed. But you never know... my mom can put together just about anything, so it might be worth a shot."

"Should be a lot of fun," Ami said. "And I'm sure you guys'll put on a great celebration no matter what."

Trunks took a quick look around. "Well, guys, I think we've hit just about everywhere major in town... I'll go see if I can get the townspeople on board for this festival idea of yours, Cammy. Shouldn't take me too long... you guys can walk around town again, or head back home, or whatever. I'll do a quick fly-by once I'm done here and if you're not here, I'll meet you guys back home, okay?"

The three nodded, watching Trunks take off into the air.

"So..." Ami giggled a little bit. "I heard Trunks caught you two sleeping in the same bed this morning. Moving kind of fast, aren't you?"

"First off," Cammy started, "how did you hear that? He never said a word, 'cause he knew I'd kick his butt if he did."

"We have a telepathic link... we can actually hear each other's thoughts if we try, and sometimes even if we don't... We do have to be kind of close, though, and of course it doesn't work across dimensions. So, that's how he told me."

"Okay..." Cammy seemed a little off-put by this, "And secondly, we had a very good reason and it has nothing to do with what you're thinking! And thirdly, Patrick is my friend now and I stopped by to visit him and I was worried about him, so I stayed, and there's nothing more to it."

"Bit of a run-on sentence there at the end, Cammy..." Patrick just grinned a little bit.

"Worried about him? This have something to do with your 'very good reason', Cammy?" It didn't take Ami long to figure out - both of them had suddenly dropped into much darker expressions at the mere mention of it. "...What happened?"

"I... had some sort of attack," Patrick started. "I was thinking about Cammy, and all of a sudden I heard her voice... except it wasn't her, exactly. It was like... her voice, but basically saying the things that Pandemonium and the others said... that I was a traitor, that I would turn on you guys eventually, too, that I would hurt her... And the whole time, I was... seeing things... Really, really horrrible things..."

Ami was silent for a second. "...What kind of things?"

"Well, first I saw Flarinsa... the one the Senshi killed... and the voice started blaming me for abandoning her... and then Cammy... Except... Except she was dead... And..." His voice cut out at this point, and Ami didn't have the heart to finish the sentence. "And then, when Cammy showed up... my vision kept blurring... and I'd see her face, and then she'd be dead again, and I kept hearing all these horrible things... And I blacked out."

"...That sounds really serious... I can understand why you were worried, Cammy... Was there anything else?"

"Mmhmm..." Cammy nodded, her voice subdued. "I kinda... started seeing double too. Except what it kept seeming like is like Patrick was... the other Patrick. Like he was back then. It was really scary..."

Ami nodded. "I can tell. It doesn't help that, well... let's be honest, your relationship didn't start off exactly great. I trust you completely now, of course, Patrick, but there's still a lot of things you did in the past that aren't exactly forgotten. But it sounds to me like some sort of psychic attack... I don't have a lot of ways to deal with that kind of thing, I'm afraid. The only thing I can tell you is to keep me posted if anything like this happens again... and keep your eyes out for anything unusual the next time something like this happens. Maybe you can spot some kind of hint as to who's doing this. Do you have any ideas, Patrick? It might be somebody from the Armada..."

"I don't doubt they have someone like that, but... I never met them, if so. I didn't spend a whole lot of time outside of Pandemonium's unit, and each unit is usually kept fairly seperate from the others - each one is supposed to be able to operate independantly... plus, that way, well... if someone betrays the group, they don't have enough information to reveal anything important."

"Looks like it paid off for them," Ami noted. "This is going to be pretty tough, then... Still, I'm sure we'll figure this out. Thanks for letting me know. We have to be on guard for this kind of thing. After all, there's no way of knowing whether this ends with Exeter... And somehow, I doubt it will."

Both of the others nodded in agreement. Then Cammy cracked a smile. "So... hey, guys! Festival! Ought to be fun! We can set up games and stuff... and maybe even get some rides! I bet Bulma could totally help fix some stuff up."

The sudden change in mood had both Patrick and Ami chuckling, and before soon all three of them (and Trunks, when he returned) were happily discussing the possibility of a fair in Nihimo.

* * *

"Taking your time, aren't you?" Sunzeki's voice lacked the merest hint of exasperation, sounding only slightly amused, but his agent got the point.

"I'm having my fun with them. You knew my methods when you chose me to take care of this one, Sunzeki... You've certainly made use of them often enough." The blond smiled at his superior, nearly matching the other's endless grin.

"You've got the Senshi running interference," Sunzeki noted. "And that means you'll be getting Trunks involved, I guarantee it. We were hoping you could keep him out of the running - we hardly need any more of his interference before we're ready for it."

The blond actually scoffed at this. "Sunzeki, sir, 'before we're ready'? You think I didn't account for the Saiyan getting involved? Trust me, it'll go off without a hitch."

"You'd better be right, Takashi. You wouldn't be the first to underestimate him... There's an entire station to attest to that. Remember... your target is the traitor. If your constant need to play these games gets Trunks involved and ruins everything, we will have to take action."

Takashi nodded again, nonchalantly. "I'm well aware of the regulations in this sort of situation. Don't worry - the traitor will be taken care of, and your precious Saiyan will be left... relatively undamaged."


End file.
